Most Useful Quotes from Taoism

As China’s only indigenous religion, Taoism’s influence is found in everything from calligraphy and politics to medicine and poetry.

It represents the unknown, and inspires us to go to places to discover more about our nature.

Taoism has achieved an incredible resurgence in the West in recent years, and for good reason. It’s full of wisdom on how to live a life of passion while remaining detached and free of the ego.

Here are my 5 favorite quotes from Taoist spiritual masters which provide a great introduction to mindfulness and the Taoist way of life.

1. Be faithful to your nature

 “The moon does not fight. It attacks no one. It does not worry. It does not try to crush others. It keeps to its course, but by its very nature, it gently influences. What other body could pull an entire ocean from shore to shore? The moon is faithful to its nature and its power is never diminished.”

― Ming-Dao Deng

2. Know yourself

“A man who knows how little he knows is well, a man who knows how much he knows is sick. If, when you see the symptoms, you can tell, Your cure is quick. A sound man knows that sickness makes him sick and before he catches it his cure is quick.”
― Lao Tzu

3. Let go of love and hate

“When love and hate are both absent, everything becomes clear and undisguised. Make the slightest distinction, however, and heaven and earth are set infinitely apart. If you wish to see the truth, then hold no opinions for or against anything. To set up what you like against what you dislike is the disease of the mind.”
― Hsin Hsin Ming

4. Be like the Tao

“Those who know don’t talk. Those who talk don’t know. Close your mouth, block off your senses, blunt your sharpness, untie your knots, soften your glare, settle your dust. This is the primal identity. Be like the Tao. It can’t be approached or withdrawn from, benefited or harmed, honored or brought into disgrace. It gives itself up continually. That is why it endures.”
― Lao Tzu

5. Rest in inaction

“You have only to rest in inaction and things will transform themselves. Smash your form and body, spit out hearing and eyesight, forget you are a thing among other things, and you may join in great unity with the deep and boundless.”
― Zhuangzi